The SCAA Board of Directors has approved the following slate of nominees, selected by the nominating committee, for election to the Board of Directors. The election will be conducted March 25 – April 22, 2011.

PETITION PROCESS | 25 Signatures Due on March 23, 2011, for Petition candidates to be placed on ballot. Individuals who wish to be considered by the membership for election to the board, but who were not selected through the nominating committee process, may submit a signature petition to be placed on the ballot. Please send signature petition to SCAA headquarters at 330 Golden Shore, Suite 50, Long Beach, CA 90802, attn. Membership Manager.

Please note that all 25 signatures submitted by petition candidates must be from current SCAA members in voting categories and only one signature per member company is allowed. Associate and individual members of SCAA are not voting members. Please contact Mansi Chokshi at SCAA, mchokshi@scaa.org or (562) 624-4197, if you have any questions or need assistance with the petition process.

NOMINIEE DEADLINES | Also due on March 23, 2011 are biographies/statements and photos from all nominees, whether selected through petition or by the nominating committee. Photographs and statements from the candidates are optional, but all nominees are encouraged to submit a 500 word biographical and vision statement.

Photos and statements will be available online for members to review before voting opens. Ca

I did get this by email but I'm once again confused for another year that there are 6 positions and 6 candidates. Not really an election but more of a pass of approval. Its sort of like a "speak up or hold your peace"... present an alternate candidate, or these will be elected by default. Trying to make sense of this for many years, have I got that right? Not that I have a "problem" with it, it just seems a little odd.

Each year the membership has the opportunity to submit the names of candidates who have the ability, time and desire to serve on the SCAA Board of Directors. Candidates should have relevant experience in coffee, be active SCAA members and have a desire to work for the membership to advance the aims of the organization.

Although this is an election in the sense that members get to vote, it should not be confused with a political campaign inasmuch as every Board member must share the same objective - advance the interests of the Association and its members. Although members may disagree as to the best way to accomplish this, there is very seldom a heated, polarizing debate around any kind of ideological lines. Thus, the relatively boring nature of the process.

Candidates names are submitted to the Nominating Committee, a group appointed by the SCAA President and consisting of the Immediate Past President, two seated board members and two members at large. This group interviews each candidate and considers their experience, place in the industry, eligibility, willingness to serve, prior SCAA involvement, other board experiences, etc., and then recommends a number of candidates equal to the number of open positions.

The process is not meant to be adversarial, but it is meant to be democratic, and for that reason two other options are available. Any candidate who was not nominated but would like to run, and who meets the basic eligibility requirements (current voting membership), can run by presenting a petition bearing the signatures of 2% of the eligible voting membership (about 34 currently) and their name will be placed on the ballot along with the names of those selected by the Nominating Committee.

There is also the opportunity to write in a candidate on the ballot. Any eligible member who wanted to could start a viral campaign to be a write in candidate and be elected in this fashion.

Once again, this is not intended to be a political process. it is intended to be an open, transparent and accessible process to allow the membership to elect the leaders that can and will put in the necessary time and effort to guide the association and to take the responsibility that comes with that leadership. All of the Directors of the Association are volunteers who are asked to give a considerable amount of time and energy to the activities of the SCAA.

Hope this helps remove some of the confusion, and please remember to vote.